Power Rangers: Samurai Squadron
by SetsunaFeldtSeiei
Summary: A new threat in the present requires powers based on the past.
1. Soul Of The Samurai, Part I

**Disclaimer: I do not own Power Ranger or Super Sentai. I do own any original characters however.  
**

This is an adaption of the Super Sentai Series "Samurai Sentai: Shinkenger"

EPISODE 01: Soul Of The Samurai, Part I  
(An adaption of ACT 01 of Shinkenger)

_My name is Ryu. Ryu Hokoda. 10 years ago, the whole world was saved in a small town known as Summerstone, located in the United States. Whilst the world carried on, unaware of the silent victory that occurred, it was all but silent to me.  
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Whilst their world was saved, my world was destroyed...  
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2 months ago I arrived in Summerstone, leaving my home in Japan, hoping to carry on my the legacy of my family and fulfilling their goals once and for all.  
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That is my goal, as a Samurai…_

It was lunchtime at Summerstone High. In the cafeteria, a lone slim-figured Japanese student dressed in denim jeans and a red t-shirt sat at one of the tables eating, almost lost in thought. He snapped out of it suddenly when he heard the voice of someone familiar.

"Hey Ryu, having a good day?" the voice called.

Ryu's dark brown eyes quickly followed the voice to it's source – a friendly, athletic looking teenage girl with fair skin, shoulder length black hair and brown eyes. Today she was wearing a pink top with some loosely fitting tracksuit bottoms. Her name was Ellie Marsden.

Ellie was in the same grade as him and out of all the people around him, she was the one that tried to talk to him the most. Or, as he saw it, tried to distract him from his goal the most.

"It's OK." He replied, showing no emotion or reaction of any kind in his face or voice.

She smiled at him, sitting down opposite him. Normally she'd ask people before doing anything like that, but Ryu would always refuse, so this time she didn't give him a choice.

Looking down at his tray, she realised that he hadn't eaten anything yet. She looked back up at him to see him gazing off into the distance as if in thought, just like he always did.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" she asked, concerned.

Ryu sighed. _'You're blocking my focus…_' he thought.

"Not today." He replied, calmly picking up his tray and walking away. Ellie decided not to go after him, not out of annoyance or frustration, but more out of respect than anything else.

She sighed to herself. _'Will you ever open up to anyone?'_ she thought.

She'd known Ryu for just over 2 months now, when he arrived as an exchange student from Japan. Besides that though, she knew nothing about him. Very few people did. He was an unusually quiet person, never interacting with anyone unless he absolutely had to, his mind always somewhere else. Despite his unsociable nature, it was hard for her to see him as being rude. Whenever he did speak to people, he always seemed to do so in a way that made people respect him rather than be angry with him.

Looking up at the clock, she realised that she was late to meet up with her friends. She quickly jumped up and walked hurriedly towards the corridor.

Meanwhile, in a tiny cave far below the city, a large, red crystal floated in mid-air. It remained still for a while, but just for a moment, it glowed in a very faint light, a crack starting to emerge in its side. The sound of a heavy laugh could be faintly heard, echoing throughout the chamber...

A couple of hours later in a nearby park, long after school had ended, another young teenager was teaching 2 of his friends some basics of his martial art, Tae Kwon-Do.

His name was Devin Kemble. His body was extremely toned through a combination of martial arts, weights and general exercise. He had spiked up brown hair and blue eyes, wearing a sleeveless blue shirt and some denim shorts.

As his friends watched, he brought up his right knee in front of him, holding the position for a few seconds so that they could see it, before kicking out in front of him and returning to a standing position.

"Ok guys, that's called a snap kick. You think you can do that?" he asked, with a tone in his voice that made them feel empowered. They both nodded in response.

"Alright! Show me." He said cheerfully, watching as they all stood up to take turns.

Isaac Yewton was the first up. He wore a khaki coloured sleeveless shirt with faded green shorts. He had short, jet black hair with dark blue eyes. He wasn't a muscular as Devin, but he was pretty close. He'd been learning from Devin for about half a year now, and he'd learnt a lot and improved considerably, performing the kick without any problems at all. He landed it, grinning.

"Too easy!" he said cheerfully, his face full of confidence.

Devin smiled, shaking his head. "It might be easy Isaac, but remember, you can always improve on even the simplest of techniques, you must never get too overconfident. Who wants to go next?"

As Isaac sat back down, the girl jumped up. Her name was Claire Bevelle, one of Devin's closest friends. They'd known each other for years now, but it was only a few weeks ago that Claire decided she wanted to experience some of his world by learning from him. She was the type that loved a challenge, even when she was up against something far beyond her capabilities. She had shoulder length brown hair with hazel eyes. She was one of the shortest people in the school for her age, but she didn't let that bother her. Today she was wearing a black top with matching trousers.

She raised her knee and attempted to kick out, but she did so far too quickly and lost her balance, nearly falling over completely. Fortunately for her, Devin anticipated that she might not do it correctly and was able to catch her before she fell over.

She looked at him and without saying a word, he helped her stand back up again before nodding with a smile on his face, letting her try again. She began to smile also and Devin stepped back. She raised her knee again and kicked out, this time successfully before returning to a standing position.

Turning her head to Devin, she grinned. "How'd I do?" she asked him.

Devin nodded. "You did great. Keep practicing!" he said cheerfully.

Meanwhile, in the small cave under the city, the crystal's glow was getting brighter and brighter, it's smooth surface cracking more and more as the light pulsated. As the heavy laugh continued, a faint voice could just about be heard…

"The time for this disgusting rock is running out. All will perish!"

Back in town a few hours later, a teenage couple was standing on a bridge looking out over the river that ran through the area.

The young man, dressed in a grey shirt and jeans, brushed his relatively long black hair out of the way of his pale blue eyes and turned his head to face his girlfriend, putting his arm around her to give her a gentle hug, resting his head on her shoulder.

"It's moments like this that really remind me of how special you are. Thanks for being here Sara." He whispered in her ear, pulling his head away as she turned to face him. "Is it really OK for you to miss cheerleading practice? I know how important it is to you."

The girl nodded, smiling gently. "Don't worry about it." She said, looking out at the sun setting over the river, her boyfriend also looking out with her. "Skipping just the once can't hurt. Besides... This view is beautiful, and there's no-one else I'd want to spend this evening with."

"Yea... It's great. Thanks again, Sara." He replied.

He felt so lucky to be going out with her. They'd only known each other for about a year, but they were already extremely close, although they had only been going out for about a month.

He thought she looked fantastic as always. She had a relatively thin build, with shoulder length blonde hair and green eyes. Today she was wearing a yellow top with a long black skirt.

She hugged him tightly. "Thanks Gareth." She whispered as they looked out at the sunset...

On the other side of town, Ryu was out for a walk. In the back of his mind he could feel it; the pulsating of the crystal. The beginning of the end. He reached inside his pocket, pulling out a fist-sized pentagonal metal object that had the Japanese symbol for fire on it. He took a long hard look at it for a few seconds before slipping it back in his pocket and carried on walking.

_'Tonight's the night._' He thought.

As he continued walking, he didn't realise that he'd been spotted by Ellie, Derek, Isaac, and Claire, who had met up and were hanging around. Ellie started to walk after him.

"Ellie? Where are you going?" Derek asked. He got no answer however, as she was more focused on Ryu.

"She so likes him, even if she'd never admit it." Claire said, watching her friend nearly running at Ryu.

"Ryu, hey! Enjoying the nice evening?" she said.

Ryu turned to answer, but just as he did, the pulsating stopped. He grabbed his head in pain as a wave of pain shot through him.

"Ryu? Ryu!" Ellie cried. Her cries attracted the attention of the others, who could clearly see Ryu in pain.

"What the hell?!" questioned Devin, who ran towards them, followed closely by the others.

Ellie put her hand on Ryu's shoulder, but as soon as he did so he started to run, bolting off towards the end of the road.

"RYU! WAIT!" Ellie shouted as he disappeared out of sight. Without thinking, she started to run after him, the others following closely behind…

In the cave far below them, the crystal was no more. In it's place stood a shadowy figure, freed from his prison. He was breathing quite quickly, as if he was exhausted and trying to get his breath back.

"I can sense you, boy! Time to take what's mine!" he cried.

A red light began to envelope him. Seconds later, he was gone...

Whilst this was happening, Ellie and the others continued to chase Ryu. Suddenly, fear filled screams could be heard up ahead, around the next corner. As Ellie dashed around the corner to see where the sounds were coming from, she stopped, terrified by what she was seeing. The main plaza was ahead of her. Dozens of terrified people were running around everywhere, terrified.

It was then that she saw why – they were under attack by what could only be described as demon-like beings, roughly the same size as an average man, dressed in yellow clothing and covered with black and red armour with heads like something you'd expect to see out of an alien film. They carried sharp-looking swords that they were trying to attack people with. There were around 10 of them. As Devin and the others ran around the corner, they saw them too.

"What the hell is going on? What ARE they?" Claire asked, horrified and confused.

Devin shook his head. "I don't know, but those people are in trouble, we've got to do something!" he said with a determined tone to his voice.

The others turned around to look at him as if he was some kind of insane lunatic. He knew how they felt. Getting involved would put their lives on the line, but he knew that if nothing was done at all, the lives of the public in general would be in danger too.

"You guys don't have to join me on this one, but as a martial artist, I've been taught to use my skills to defend those that can't defend themselves, and those people are in trouble. I can't stand here and do nothing!" he cried.

"Well said!" shouted a voice from behind them. They all turned around to see Gareth and Sara running towards them, slowing to a stop when they were close enough.

"Gareth! Sara! What are you doing here?!" questioned Ellie.

"Well... We were just hanging out and..." Sara started to mumble. Whilst their friends knew they were close, they didn't know how close. They had been keeping it as quiet as they could until they had chance to test the waters.

Seeing her struggling to explain, Gareth finished it off. "We heard the screaming and we came to check it out, but now really isn't the time for this. We have to get the people to safety and try and hold these lunatics off until some real help arrives!"

Isaac nodded. "He's right, we don't have a lot of time. Devin, you're the best fighter out of all of us. What do you think we should do?"

Devin sighed. He hated being put in charge, but because he was so reliable, he was always ending up in that position. He thought about it quickly, coming up with a plan in seconds. "We should all play to our strengths. Isaac, Gareth. You and me will rush in there and pick fights directly, buying time for Claire and Sara to get people out of here. Ellie, I know you can fight too, so you'd be good at doing both, so I'll let you decide what to do."

Ellie nodded, as did the others.

"Right, lets go!" Gareth cried, running towards the trouble ahead of them. Everything else did the same.

As they reached the trouble, Sara and Claire went for the nearest people, ushering them away and helping up those that were lying on the ground as the others rushed ahead.

Sara knelt down beside someone to help them up, but just as she did so, one of the monsters appeared before them, it's sword raised to strike. She started to scream. Just as the monster began to swing, Isaac lunged into it, sending them both flying to the floor. As he landed, Isaac rolled away and jumped up, ready to fight. He nodded to Sara and she nodded back, leaving with the person she'd helped as fast as possible.

As the mayhem began below, the shadowy figure from the cave was now standing on top of a nearby building, surveying the chaos.

He was a huge monster, just as dangerous-looking as the creatures in the plaza. He was easily about 7 foot tall, coated in red and black armor, his appearance like that of a demon, complete with fang like teeth and black-wing like parts on either side of his head. In his hands he held a massive sword.

"Go forth, my Nanashi warriors. Destroy all those who stand in your way!"

Just as he spoke, he felt a familiar presence. He gripped his sword tightly as he turned around. Before him was a man dressed in red, an outfit he recognised all too well.

"So, the Red Ranger has come once more to try and destroy me. You must be the son of that fool that used those powers to seal me away 10 years ago. He threw his life away for nothing, and it looks like you will too!"

The Red Ranger drew his katana from it's sheathe, holding it tightly, preparing to strike. "Your time is up, Gyaranth. I've waited for a long time for this moment. Whilst you're at your weakest, I will strike you down where you stand, in honour of all those that have died by your hands!"

With that, the Red Ranger charged at his opponent, clashing blades. Gyaranth wasted no time in fighting back. He might have been weaker than he's ever been before, but he was still fully capable of fighting back, attacking the Red Ranger with powerful strikes. Fortunately, the Red Ranger was skilled, dodging, blocking and countering various blows. This carried on for a few moments until their blades clashed again, locked against each other.

"I will NOT let you repeat the tragedies of the past!" the Red Ranger cried.

Gyaranth just laughed. "Tragedy? The only tragedy here is that you won't live long enough to see the end of this pathetic human race!" he replied.

Down in the plaza, Devin could see the fight up above, but didn't have time to look for long as he was being attacked by 2 of the monsters, one in front, one behind. He ducked to avoid a sword attack from the one in front, quickly getting back up and running at it, delivering a powerful knee strike to it, quickly chaining it into a back kick to try and stop them. Both attacks stunned the respective opponents, but failed to hurt either. Just as he landed his leg from the kicks, another monster came at him from the side, bringing down it's sword from above. Fortunately Devin was able to jump out of the way just in time to stop himself from being killed for certain.

Isaac on the other hand was keeping himself busy trying to keep some of them away from Sara and Claire, who were nearly finished with evacuating people. Two of the monsters were right in front of Isaac, swinging their blades in his general direction. There was no way on Earth that he could counter, all he could do was dodge and hope for the best.

Gareth wasn't faring much better, being forced to use nearby chairs and tables as cover, jumping over them and kicking them at his opponents. He knew that he couldn't really do anything to hurt them at this point. He was just hoping that the police, or even the army, showed up soon to help them.

Back on the rooftop, the vicious battle continued to rage. Whilst the Red Ranger was proving that he was skilled, there was little he could do to stop the ferocious attacks of Gyaranth, who was slowly regaining his strength with every passing second, forcing the Red Ranger to dodge more and more. For a split second, he could see the people fighting to protect the citizens below.

_'They're in trouble, but I can't let my focus down now!_' he thought, returning his focus to the battle.

Meanwhile, Ellie had decided to go down the route of distracting the monsters and buying time rather than trying to fight them directly. Having successfully attracted the attention of a couple of them, she quickly ran down a nearby alleyway.

She was a keen practitioner of the art of parkour, so she felt confident in being able to evade her attackers even in such a limited environment like the alleyway. A solid wooden fence was blocking the path in front of her. Checking behind her that they were still chasing her, she ran at full pace towards the wall, running vertically up it for a few steps before flipping backwards over the monsters when she got as high as she could go. She just about made it, landing behind them. She quickly kicked them from behind, forcing them against the fence before running away.

As she ran out of the alleyway however, she was ambushed by four more of them. She looked around frantically and she saw an open shutter to her left, leading into a small warehouse. Not needing to think about it, she dodged another sword attack and bolted for the warehouse, hoping to cut through the open shutter on the other side that lead to the river.

Just as she dashed inside however, another three of them appeared from the other side, forcing her to stop. _'Where the hell are they coming from? There wasn't this many just now!'_ she thought, her mind racing. She was now trapped in the warehouse, surrounded by 7 of them.

Two of them charged at her. One swung it's sword at her, which she evaded, but she was unable to avoid a kick from the other one, which sent her flying into a crate. She smashed into it and dropped to the floor.

From a distance, Sara saw what was happening.

"ELLIE! NO!" she screamed out loud. The others turned their attention to Ellie, but they were too preoccupied to help her.

The Red Ranger heard the distressed scream. "NO!" he cried out loud. Gyaranth realised he was distracted and wasted no time, bringing his sword to the Ranger's left arm before pulling it away, the entire length of the blade cutting into his arm, sending sparks flying everywhere.

The Red Ranger cried in agony, his other arm holding his injury. He backed up to gain some distance. He was injured, but still determined to fight.

Knowing that Ellie was in great danger was forcing him to reconsider his actions. He knew that he could continue fighting Gyaranth, but with his strength coming back to him so quickly, he was becoming too much to handle. He also knew that if Ellie was injured, or worse, because he didn't react, it would be entirely his fault. There was no decision to be made.

"You haven't won, Gyaranth. This isn't over!" he cried, jumping off of the building to the ground below.

Gyaranth watched on as the Red Ranger left the battle. "That's it, run you worm! With your injury you can't save her anyway. The Nanashi will kill you all!" he said, ready to observe the battle.

Ellie screamed as the Nanashi surrounded her, but just as they did a small ball of fire flew in through one of the open entrances, entirely destroying three of the Nanashi and creating a lot of smoke. The Nanashi and Ellie turned their heads to see the smoke clear, a Red Ranger standing in it's place.

"Nanashi! Your end is here!" he cried. Looking behind him, the Nanashi that was attacking the civilians in the plaza were now coming straight for him. He pulled his belt buckle open to reveal a black disk. Taking it in hand, he slipped it onto the end of his katana's hilt, unsheathing it once more. He pulled it up by his face, taking a split second to prepare for the battle ahead before charging at his opponents, taking on several at once before running through them, taking the battle out the other side of the warehouse, towards the river.

He fought expertly taking out many of them with no effort whatsoever, despite the massive pain he felt from his injury. Two more Nanashi tried to surprise him by jumping up from the river, but he predicted the attack without a problem, slashing them back into the river below before continuing his assault.

After taking down a few more Nanashi, the Ranger opened his belt buckle once more, this time revealing a red disk. He flipped it into the air, bringing the hilt of his katana up towards it, the disk sliding along it perfectly to replace the black one, which had disappeared by this point.

He span the newly attached red disk, his sword now engulfed in flames. Determined to end the battle, he began his assault anew, cutting his foes down with flame-filled slashes, ripping through the remaining Nanashi with a few simple strikes. He turned his back to his enemies, the flames on his sword dying out. The Nanashi exploded in a tremendous ball of flames before fading away, just like the fire that killed them.

Sheathing his katana, he ran back to the warehouse to check on Ellie. He was relieved to see that she was safe. The others had come to her aid as well, stood around her.

"I... I don't know who you are, but thank you." She said, noticing his injury. "Are you alright?"

He looked away, not wanting to say too much in case they recognised his voice. He turned his back to them and walked away.

"Woah, hold it right there! You could at least answer her!" Isaac replied.

The Red Ranger stopped for a second before running out of the warehouse. The others ran after him, but by the time they got outside, he was long gone, as was Gyaranth...

Meanwhile, in a mysterious location, Gyaranth was on the deck of a ship, floating in a sea of blood. He looked out at the endless red skies, thinking out loud.

"Blast it! I should have destroyed him when I had the chance. But there is still time; he must be stopped before he considers giving the other Ranger powers away!"

He turned around, drawing his sword and holding it above his head with both hands. "Zardek! I summon you!" he cried.

His sword glowed bright red, becoming a ball of energy that slammed into the ground before him, creating a red mist. As the mist cleared, a terrifying monster stood in it's place.

"How can I be of service, my lord?"

TO BE CONTINUED…

Next time: Soul Of The Samurai, Part II

The others are surprised to discover the Red Ranger's identity, and with the arrival of Zardek, choices must be made!


	2. Soul Of The Samurai, Part II

EPISODE 02: Soul Of The Samurai, Part II  
(An adaption of ACT 01 of Shinkenger)

'I failed.'

The thought repeated through Ryu's head over and over as he sat on a park bench, watching the sunrise, reflecting on the previous days events.

'All the years of training, waiting and dedication, all for nothing! How am I supposed to beat him now?' he thought, his fists clenching in anger.

He reached into his pocket, pulling out the pentagonal object once again, staring long and hard at the fire symbol that was on it. Quickly looking around him, Ryu couldn't see anyone. He dropped the object to the floor, changing into a creature that looked like a lion. It jumped up onto his lap, looking up at him, making a quiet roaring noise as it did so.

Ryu nodded. "I know, I know... There's no other way is there?" he replied, looking down at 4 similar objects hidden in his open rucksack in front of him.

He shook his head. "No. There has to be another way. I have to… No, wait. I must find a way to do this..." Before Ryu could finish, he winced in pain. Carefully, he pulled his jacket off his sleeve to look at the bandage he put over the injury he had been given yesterday. Blood was staining it.

'Darn it... This isn't going to be easy.' he thought, pulling his jacket back up his arm. He gathered his things together and started off on a slow walk to school...

A short time later, Devin and the others were walking to school, discussing the events of the day before.

"So it's this city's turn to get invaded I guess." Wondered Isaac aloud.

Ellie turned to look at him. "Yea, it looks that way. From what I've read, it always starts like this. Monsters start attacking and the city gets saved by-"

Before she could finish, she was interrupted by Devin, who finished off for her. "The Power Rangers. Didn't you guys find it kinda strange though? I mean, normally there's more than one of them."

Sara nodded. "You're right. Normally the Red one seems to be the leader. If that really is the case, where are the others?" she wondered.

Gareth shook his head. "In the end, I guess it doesn't really matter. His appearance take some of the pressure away from us, I mean, under normal circumstances, people would be chasing us like heroes by now. Just be thankful we probably won't be attracting too much attention."

Everyone agreed. Claire looked over at Ellie. "Looks like you were quite lucky to make it out of there alive though... You owe him your life, whoever he was!"

Ellie stopped walking. Everyone else did too.

"I-I know." She started to mutter. "I really thought I could do more to help, but in the end… In the end, it was me that needed rescuing." She finished, looking down at the floor.

Sara walked over to her friend before giving her a hug. "It's OK, it's OK." She whispered to Ellie, who returned the hug for a few seconds before pulling away.

She attempted to smile. "Yea, it could have been worse, but it isn't, right?" she replied, trying to make it look like she could see a bright side to the situation. Her mind wandered, thinking about him. His injury looked pretty painful, but he didn't seem to give it any thought – just who was he?

For now, she dismissed the questions from her mind as the friends carried on towards the school.

Far away, meanwhile, Gyaranth looked out at the sea of blood before him. Zardek was no longer present. 'It begins... Let the blood flow freely.' Thought Gyaranth, grinding his teeth in anger and impatience, the time for his rule long overdue...

A few hours later, it was lunchtime once again at the high school. Ellie was wandering around the corridors looking for Ryu, who had practically been avoiding everyone as much as possible all morning. It took a fair while, but eventually she found him at the top of one of the school's various staircases, looking out of the large windows, the view going on for miles and miles.

He sensed her approach, but did nothing. She didn't find that even remotely strange coming from him, but she couldn't help noticing the thin jacket he'd been wearing all day, which seemed a bit strange considering how warm it was.

"Ryu?" she said, speaking in a quiet, concerned tone. After seeing him in pain the day before, she wasn't really sure how to talk to him. Despite her concern, he remained motionless and silent.

"So are you just going to ignore me? Ryu, please... You know I saw you in pain yesterday. I just want to help you. Won't you let me in, just this once?" She pleaded her case, but moments went by without answer. Not wanting to give up, she walked up to next to him and also looked out at the view.

He sighed. "Why do you have to interfere?" he said coldly.

She turned her head to look at him, her face was a mixed picture of surprise and anger. "Interfere?" she snapped. "I'm trying to be a friend! You know, a friend?"

Shaking his head, he turned to face her. He was somewhat surprised to see tears running down her face. For a brief moment he felt guilty for upsetting her, but he quickly refocused.

"I'm fine, really. I don't need your concern." He said quietly, walking away.

"What is wrong with you?!" she screamed, turning around and grabbing his arm. Suddenly, he froze and cried in pain, pulling his arm away and running down the stairs.

"Ryu!" Ellie cried as she watched him run. Suddenly, she had a flashback of the Red Ranger's injury from the day before – it was in the same place, and Ryu definitely wasn't injured there when she saw him in pain the day before.

"It can't be..." she whispered to herself as Sara and the others ran up the stairs, having heard her yell...

Meanwhile, in the centre of town, all the people were going about their daily lives. However, this wasn't to last. Up on one of the many wooden-board covered walkways, a claw suddenly emerged out of nowhere, swiping and knocking a couple down to the floor. As they turned around to see what had happened, Zardek and dozens of Nanashi appeared out of the ground, quickly dispatching them.

Zardek had quite a menacing appearance – the bottom half of his body and his lower arms were blue, his lower body large and round, like an onion, a menacing face across it. The upper half of his body was red and much thinner and streamlined, looking similar to samurai armor. He held dagger-like blades in his hands.

He looked around to survey his surroundings. Everyone was running around in terrified panic. He laughed maniacally. "Time to get this party started! Nanashi, charge!" he cried, motioning them to move forward. They all ran towards the nearest person they could see, ready to kill, Zardek following them.

Back at the school. Sara and the others were trying to make sense of Ellie's emotional account of what just happened.

"You can't be serious." Isaac commented. "You really expect us to believe that Ryu is the Red Ranger?"

"But it is true! I'm sure of it! They both have the same injury!" Ellie insisted.

Before anyone could get a chance to reply, Claire's phone started to ring. She motioned to everyone that she had to answer it and walked away to answer it. Ellie continued.

"I know it sounds strange, but I know I'm not crazy. Even the attitude seemed similar, don't you think?"

Devin shrugged. "I guess when you properly think it through, it does all fit. I just don't underst-"

Before Devin could finish, Claire ran up to them, a panicked look over her face.

"What's wrong?" asked Sara.

"We've got a big problem. Those freaks that attacked yesterday? They've shown up again down town, a lot more than last time!" she said, almost shouting.

"You've got to be kidding me." Gareth replied.

'He's going to fight again, I know it.' Thought Ellie. Something inside her knew that she couldn't ignore what she'd heard. Before anyone could stop her, she bolted for the stairs.

"Ellie!" cried Sara, running after her. She turned around to the others briefly. "What are you waiting for, c'mon!"

The others looked at each other for a second before following Ellie and Sara.

In town the Nanashi were having a field day, but it wasn't to last. Up on one of the walkways, the Red Ranger had arrived and was fighting Zardek. Their blades clashed violently as they tried to outwit each other.

"Gyaranth has lackeys doing his dirty work already? You're not fit to walk this plane!" the Ranger yelled.

Zardek feinted a strike before landing a proper one which connected, throwing the Ranger off of the edge to the floor below. "And you're clearly not fit to fight me, Reddy!" he shouted back in reply.

The Ranger got to his feet, stumbling around a little. He looked around him and saw the chaos the Nanashi were causing. He started to run for cover. 'Damn it all! I'm running out of energy. And options. An time...' he thought as he ran into an alleyway, collapsing and demorphing. Unfortunately, it happened just after Ellie and the others saw him go into the alleyway, and they had followed him. He was weak and distracted this time, and didn't notice them coming.

"Ryu! Are you alright?" screamed Ellie as she ran in front of him, looking at him with a look of great concerned. Sara joined them.

"I don't believe it... Are you really?" she asked him.

He looked at them both, a mixture of anger and relief in his face. "W-w-what are you doing here? You shouldn't have followed me!" he hissed.

Devin approached them. "You can't keep fighting alone. You're fighting to save the people, right? Well, the way I see it, the longer you keep trying to fight this one alone, the more people'll die since you can't be everywhere at once."

Ryu shut his eyes for a moment, thinking to himself.

'Forgive me.'

He reached into his jacked, and taped into the insides where the strange-shaped objects that were in his bag earlier, and 4 pen-like objects. He tossed them out on to the ground before standing up.

"If you guys really want to fight, take them." he said coldly.

The others looked around in wonder.

Claire looked on in wonder. "Are you... Are you asking us to become Rangers?"

He shook his head. "Only 4 of you. Hurry up, there isn't a lot of time."

Claire stepped back. "I'll leave this to you guys." She replied.

Devin walked over and picked up the blue object and a pen. "There's no going back from this, but I can't turn away."

Sara was next, going for the yellow object. "Every team needs some girl power, right?"

Isaac jumped at the chance, grabbing the green object. "Alright! Time to be a hero!"

That left the Pink object. Gareth turned away. "As much as I'd love to save the world... I'll pass."

Ellie looked at the object long and hard. "I can't. I'm sorry." She said, standing up and turning away. Sara got up too and lightly grabbed her arm.

"Why?" she asked.

"I nearly... Y'know, died yesterday. If I couldn't do it then, then what makes you think this'll make any difference?" she replied.

Ryu stepped forward. "You seem to care for me, and that probably means you care for others too. If you really want to help others, then fight for them." He said plainly.

Ellie turned around and looked at him. "Ryu..."

Ryu looked her straight in the eyes and nodded slowly.

She looked down at the circular pink object and leant down and picked it up, along with the pen. "I have to try."

Ryu nodded. "Very well. Take your pen and draw the symbol that's on your Origami. Watch." He said, taking the pen in his hand. He drew the symbol in the air, a red trail being left where he drew.

"SAMURAI SOUL, ENGAGE!"

A red flash of light covered him for a second, before he turned into the Red Ranger.

The others nodded, drawing their symbols in the air.

"SAMURAI SOUL, ENGAGE!"

Blue, pink, yellow and green lights wrapped around them all, dissipating to reveal 4 Rangers, all holding swords.

"Incredible!" said a cheerful Devin. The others agreed.

"Let's get to work." ordered Ryu.

As they ran back out into the streets, Devin stopped by Gareth and Claire. "Get to safety guys, we can handle this one." He told them. They didn't need telling twice, running for cover as fast as they could.

Zardek was having the time of his life causing mayhem and destruction. As he surveyed the chaos, he saw Ryu running towards him, he was surprised to see 4 other Rangers with him.

"What's this? Where'd these guys come from?"

They stopped several feet before him.

"Zardek, you're through." Ryu said.

"And you guys are?" he demanded.

"The flames of determination, Red Samurai Ranger!"  
"The tides of courage, Blue Samurai Ranger!"  
"The winds of change, Pink Samurai Ranger!"  
"The growth of strength, Green Samurai Ranger!"  
"The fortitude of will, Yellow Samurai Ranger!"

"Heh, Samurai? You're just kids with bright outfits. Nanashi! Get them!" As he shouted orders, the Nanashi charged.

"Go." Ryu ordered. The others nodded and they all charged into battle.

All five of them fought valiantly against the demon-like footsoldiers. Despite the fact that four of them were fighting as Rangers for the first time, they all handled it exceptionally well, each of them fighting to their strengths – Devin was going in up close and personal, using his fighting experience to his advantage, charging into them all. Sara was going all out. Her lack of experience was obvious in the way she fought, but she was still doing remarkably well regardless. Isaac, for all of his practicing, was doing surprisingly badly, spending most of his time avoiding attacks rather than fighting and Ellie was giving it her all, taking them out with a string of techniques.

Ryu was also holding his own well, even with his injuries, when a line of Nanashi approached with bows, firing at him. Using his sword, he blocked them expertly. Suddenly, the other Rangers attacked the Nanashi and gathered around Ryu.

Devin held his arm out to block Ryu. "You've done a lot, but you've got to remember you're injured. Let us handle this from here."

Ryu shoved him aside. "Think of yourself first, and the battle going on around you." he said, spinning the disk on his sword, turning it into a massive blade. "Buster sword!" he cried, charging forwards into the Nanashi, taking large numbers of them out.

The others looked at each other and nodded, spinning their blades.

"Wave bow!"

Devin fired into the crowd, taking many out with one volley of shots.

"Gale fan!"

Ellie struck the Nanashi with her fan, the wind coming from it took care of whatever enemies she missed.

"Rock shuriken!"

Sara used all 3 blades to keep the Nanashi at bay, using it as more of a defensive weapon whilst still dealing the damage where it was needed.

Before Isaac could use his weapon however, it was knocked out of his hands. "Crap! I really need to practice more..." he thought aloud, jumping over to his sword, picking it up and spinning the disk.

"Nature spear!"

Using the long range of the weapon, he charged into the crowd, spinning it around and taking out large amount of enemies.

Meanwhile, Ryu was using his Buster Sword to fight Zardek. Zardek was firing balls of fire at him, but due to the Buster Sword's massive size, it deflected them all with ease. Ryu used the break in the action to deliver some strong blows himself, sending Zardek flying into a nearby car.

"Heh, you don't have what it takes kid!" he yelled at Ryu, picking up the car and throwing it at Ryu, who expertly cut it in half. He charged at Zardek, piercing his shoulder with the blade and charged forward until Zardekj was forced into a pillar. Ryu span around to cut him in half, but Zardek ducked down, barely missing the killing blow. He kicked Ryu aside and fired another volley of fireballs at him, sending him flying.

At that point, the other Rangers joined him.

"Ryu!"

Zardek looked at them, worn out. The Nanashi were gone, he had been weakened greatly during the duel and he was running out of ideas.

"I hate to do this kiddies, but I gotta run. I'll be back!" he cried, laughing before he sank into the ground. The others ran after him.

"Wait!"

Ryu stood up. "It looks like it's over. Split up, check for survivors, make sure they're OK, then leave and meet me back at the school. Don't let anyone know who you are." He commanded. They all nodded and spread out, apart from Ellie.

"Thank you." She said.

"You can thank me later. Think of others first." Ryu replied.

She nodded and they ran in separate directions...

On Gyaranth's ship, Zardek approached his master.

"Master, please forgive me. I wasn't expecting five of them."

Gyaranth span around, slamming his arm into him and sending him flying across the deck. "No excuses! I don't care how many of them there are, you will get rid of them! You know I can't take care of it myself yet, so I'll give you one more chance. Do not fail me!" he cried, stamping, which shook the ship violently.

"Thank you!" Zardek said, diving into the sea to think a new plan through.

Back at the school, the five Rangers met up having returned to civilian forms with Gareth and Claire were waiting for them. They spent a while talking to each other before parting ways, having a lot to think about.

Ellie and Ryu were they only ones left.

"Thank you, Ryu. If it wasn't for what you said earlier I'd be-"

"Forget it." Ryu interrupted. "I never gave you any strength, you just happened to find it within yourself, never forget that."

He went to walk away, but he stopped for a second, turning around. "There's a lot to be done, a lot to be learnt, but you and the others did a good job today. Have a good evening, Ellie."

With that, he walked away into the distance, leaving Ellie to think about everything that had happened…

TO BE CONTINUED...

Next time: A Warrior's Lesson

Ryu tries to teach everyone about their powers, but not everyone is paying attention...


	3. A Warriors Lesson

EPISODE 03 : A Warrior's Lesson  
(An adaption of ACT 03 of Shinkenger, with parts of ACT 01)

It was the day after the attacks by Zardek and the Nanashi, and unsurprisingly, the town was in a state of panic. Most of the townspeople were familiar with evil factions attacking the Earth, even as far back as Rita Repulsa's attacks in Angel Grove. Now, they were in Summerstone, claiming lives.

Hope had appeared however in the form of the Power Rangers. At this point however, the hope was minimal. These demonic villains seemed far more aggressive than anything they'd heard or seen before. Then again, that was all they had to rely on.

Hope...

As the sun rose over Summerstone, the TV channels were full of news stories about the previous day's battle. In each of their homes, the Ranger's and their friends looked on in wonder.

Devin sighed, turning off his TV and turned his head to look out of the window. He lived up on a hill and could practically see the entire city from his house.

'All those people...' he thought, looking at his pen and Origami. 'Do we really have the power to save them? Too many people are already gone.'

Sara became lost in thought, the sound of the TV drifting into the background. She was holding her Origami in her hand, her fist slowly clenching around it, a tear falling from her eyes. The cheerful, lively persona had faded away.

'If only things had worked out differently, we might have been able to save you all... I'm so sorry...'

Isaac leant back in his chair and relaxed, looking at his Origami and pen on the table.

'What's all the fuss over? That battle was a piece of cake. We'll have this finished in no time!' he though, smiling to himself.

Ellie was pacing up and down her room in a mixture of impatience and panic.

'Did I really make the right choice? What if I'm not capable enough?'

Gareth reached into his pocket and pulled out a photograph of himself and Sara. He looked on with an almost vacant expression.

'I really wish I could protect you, but I know you can do this. Just be safe, yea?' he thought, looking away in discomfort.

Claire got up and turned the TV off so she could get ready for the day ahead.

'They can do it, I know they can. Surely there must be some way I can help them. I can't sit here doing nothing...'

Ryu stood at his window, his transformed Lion Origami standing by his side. He sighed.

'I guess you got your way after all...'

A few hours later, it was lunchtime at Summerstone High. Everyone had met in one of the courtyards at Ryu's request, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Isaac grunted in annoyance. "Where the heck is he? Some leader he is...'

Before anyone could answer, the fire bell went off. Everyone looked around, confused until the headmaster could be heard over the school's speaker system.

"Everyone report to the sports field right now! This isn't a drill, we're under attack! I repeat, get to the fields now!"

Sara stood up and looked around. "We're under attack? I don't see anything?"

Devin searched carefully until he saw them – Nanashi warriors, heading towards them from a small alleyway between two of the school's buildings. Panicked screaming could be heard as everyone in the school was trying to get to the field on the other end of the grounds.

"Over there!" he yelled, pointing at them. Everyone else quickly jumped to their feet.

Ellie was also looking around. "I don't see Ryu anywhere, could he already be fighting?"

Gareth nodded. "That'd be a good guess. Shouldn't you guys join in?" he said with an urgent tone to his voice.

Everyone nodded as Devin looked around one more time.

"Yea. Looks like the coast is clear, no-one should see us use our powers." He said, turning to face Gareth and Claire. "You guys get to safety, leave this to us." He ordered.

"You got it!" Claire replied as herself and Gareth ran to safety.

Devin took his pen from his pocket. "Ready?"

"Ready!" the others cried. They wrote their symbols in the air.

"SAMURAI SOUL, ENGAGE!"

The lights engulfed them once more and they became Rangers. With the Nanashi nearly to them, the next battle began...

At the school's entrance meanwhile, Ryu was morphed and fighting Zardek, who had returned. He expertly dodged and defended against each of the monster's blows, countering every time with an attack of his own. Jumping back to gain some ground, he span the disk on the hilt, changing it into a massive sword once again.

"Buster sword!"

Zardek laughed. "That butter knife again? Don't be ridiculous!"

Zardek charged, suddenly stopping a few meters in front of Ryu. Suddenly, he sped forward, ready to strike, catching up to Ryu in half a second.

Ryu saw it coming however, and struck out with his sword at just the right time, slashing his opponent badly as he passed him. Just as Zardek started to fall, the Buster Sword glowed red and went back to it's normal form. Ryu quickly spun the disk again, but this time it became covered in flames, as did the sword's blade. He span himself around, holding the sword out in front of him as he did so.

"Flame slash!" he cried as the sword connected, cleanly cutting straight through his opponent, a massive burst of flames accompanying the strike. Zardek grunted in pain, falling to the ground, lifeless.

Ryu wasted no time as he began running towards the others, who he could hear fighting in the distance. Just as he arrived, they finished falling the last of the Nanashi.

Isaac saw the Red Ranger running at them. "Where the hell have you been?!" he yelled in anger.

"Quiet! There's no time. Get out your Origami's!" Ryu yelled in response.

Everyone looked at him, confused. "Why?" asked Devin.

They got their answer long before Ryu could explain it to them. Zardek suddenly appeared, growing to a massive size, prompting the rookie Rangers to step back in shock.

"Hurry!" Ryu yelled, holding his Origami in his hand. "Get them out and do exactly as I do!"

He placed his Origami on the floor, drawing a symbol above it. He disappeared into it before it flew into the air, growing into a massive size before transforming into a lion and landing again. In the cockpit, he took his sword and inserted into the control panel.

"Lion Origami Zord!"

Everyone stared in amazement for a few seconds before Devin reached for his Origami, the others doing the same. They did exactly what Ryu had done and their Origami's grew to massive size. Devin's turned into a Dragon, Ellie's turned into a Turtle, Isaac's a Bear and Sara's was a Monkey.

"Dragon Origami Zord!"  
"Turtle Origami Zord!"  
"Bear Origami Zord!"  
"Monkey Origami Zord!"

"How do we control this thing?!" Sara asked.

Ryu sighed. "Focus your energy through your sword. Just as your sword is an extension of you, so is your Zord. Think, then act. Understood?"

"Yes!" replied Sara, Devin and Ellie.

"And you, Isaac?" Ryu asked.

"Yea, yea, I get it. Let's do this already." Isaac replied.

"Why are you being such a jerk?" Ellie asked.

"Enough!" Ryu interrupted. "Focus!" he yelled, focusing.

Zardek saw the Zords coming at him. "So, you're prepared for this after all, huh? Well, I'll just have to use my second life to end all of yours!" he cried, changing his blades into pistols, firing at the group. Ryu charged ahead of the others, smashing into Zardek, who crossed his blades and fired a stream of energy at the Lion Zord, which took a hit.

Ryu attempted to circle back around, but he charged straight into his opponent's oncoming slashes.

Devin looked on at the battle, getting a bit frustrated. "C'mon guys! Let's get in there!"

Sara nodded. "Right!"

The Monkey Zord leapt at Zardek, pummelling with many swipes and punches before backflipping onto the top of a nearby building before jumping off the side and transforming into it's natural triangle shape, smashing into Zardek's shoulder and giving Ryu some time to gain some distance.

"I'm going in!" Ellie cried, transforming the Zord and spinning around at high speed to charge into Zardek, but he saw her coming and hit the top of her Zord, sending it careering into his lower mouth, which started to bite the Zord.

"Ah!" cried Ellie.

"What kinda tactic is that?" asked Isaac, who started to charge in. Zardek noticed and fired beams at the Zord from his shoulders,

Isaac was able to dodge the beams and started to swipe at Zardek's lower body, but Zardek picked him up.

"Damn it! Let go!" Isaac yelled, turning the Zord into Square form, landing on Zardek's foot, the pain forcing him to release Ellie's Zord.

"Get away!" yelled Isaac.

"You don't need to tell me twice!" replied Ellie as both Zords rolled away.

Zardek went to give chase, but Devin dropped his Zord, in Hexagon form, on top of Zardek's head, stopping him. Devin then transformed the Zord back into Dragon form, circling around.

"Take this! Water breath!" he yelled as the Zord fired blue fire-like breath at it's opponent.

The distraction was just long enough for Ryu to seize the opportunity. "Time to end this!" He yelled, taking his sword out of the panel and spinning the disk.

"Flame charge!" he cried as the Zord returned to Pentagon form, but with it's legs sticking out as fire surrounded it as it smashed into Zardek for the final time, piercing straight through it's body. As the Zord landed, Zardek collapsed and died in an explosion of sparks.

"One step closer to our goal." Ryu said calmly as the battle came to it's conlusion...

The Rangers quickly returned to school and were told off for disappearing during an emergency – although in this case they were let off due to their good record. They all knew they got lucky, this time...

As they walked out of the headmaster's office at the end of the day, they finally had a breather.

"Let's go. There's a lot to discuss." Ryu said sternly.

"ENOUGH!" screamed Isaac, heading towards Ryu and standing opposite him. "I've had more than enough of you ordering us around like we're your servants. I don't care if we've only just started out – you could treat us like humans, at least!" he yelled, pushing Ryu backwards before storming off.

"Ryu! Where are you going?!" Sara said as she went to follow him.

"Don't." stated Ryu.

Sara stopped and turned around. "What? Why?" she asked, confused.

"As I said, there's a lot to discuss. If we let him distract us from our goal, he's wasting our time." He said coldly. "Follow me." He said, walking off.

The others weren't so sure about his tone, but they looked at each other, nodding and followed.

On the blood sea, meanwhile, Gyaranth watched events through special water he kept in a big jar, laughing to himself.

"Ha! So that idiot Zardek failed, as expected. He didn't weaken them as much as I'd hoped, but they are divided. Good enough. Time for stage two. Mirgar!" he yelled.

Another monster jumped out of the sea, He was tall and green, with large orange lines running along his body.

"You called?" he asked his master.

"The Samurai Rangers have returned at full capacity, but one of them is alone. I want him eliminated. Take care of anyone else near by whilst you're at it. Go!" he shouted.

Mirgar nodded. "At once!" he cried, jumping back into the river...

Back in town, the Rangers, along with Claire and Gareth had gathered in the park. Ryu took out his pen and showed it to the others. "This is but merely one of the forms of your Samurai Morpher." He said, transforming it into a phone, everyone else copying him. "This is it's normal form. As long as it's in this form, we can keep in touch with each other. Keep in mind though, that only we can keep in touch with each other, not normal phones." He explained.

The others looked at their Morphers, clearly impressed. Devin looked up at Ryu. "That's awesome, but could you explain how these Morphers work? How can we write in thin air?" he asked.

Ryu thought for a few seconds before answering. "Within every human lies an energy deep within us that in ancient times was called Mojikara. Normally, this energy is inaccessible to us. These Morphers act as a kind of communication tool, linking us with our Mojikara. The writing you can see when you use your powers is your Mojikara in visible form."

Everyone nodded in understanding, but there was still much to talk about.

"That demon guy yesterday... Who was he?" asked Sara.

Ryu looked away for a few seconds. 'Is it right for me to tell them?' he thought. Looking back, he began to explain.

"His name is Gyaranth, and ending his reign is our goal. Many years ago, he was defeated by our predecessors, the last team of Samurai Rangers. At the end of the battle, he fled. For whatever reason, he's decided to return. I could sense his impending return a few months ago, leading me to head to this country, believing he would be here."

"And you were right." Gareth commented, leading Ryu to nod in response.  
"Since he has just returned, he is, or was, at his weakest, which was why I fought him yesterday. I believed I could beat him before he could regain even a little bit of his strength, but I was wrong. By then, blood had already been shed."

"Why is blood so important?" Ellie asked.

"It's the source of his strength. He resides in what could be considered another dimension, in a ship on a sea of blood. Any human that bleeds as a result of being attacked by him or any of his army has their blood sent to that sea, and as it rises, so does his power. I doubt he'd return here until his strength has near completely returned." He replied.

There was a stunned silence for a few seconds before the conversation continued.

"Y'know... Whilst it's great to know all of this, it just doesn't sit right with me that we're excluding Isaac from this. We're meant to be a team, right?" Devin noted.

Ryu sighed. "It was his choice not to be here. His attitude doesn't suit his place in the team. Either he sorts out his attitude or he'll need to be replaced."

"Isn't that a bit harsh?" Claire asked. "I know he's impulsive and he isn't really used to being ordered around, but he'll come around, right?"

Meanwhile, as the Rangers continued to talk, Isaac was at a café on the other end of town eating some food.

'That jerk... Who the hell does he think he is?' he thought.

Whilst he sat at the table, he failed to notice Mirgar appearing from the ground behind him, immediately beginning to attack people nearby. The sounds of people panicking quickly caught his attention as he spun around and caught sight of the monster.

"Another one? I guess now's the time to prove I don't need that guy bossing me around." He muttered to himself, picking up his Morpher, running at Mirgar. As he ran, he drew his symbol in the air.

"SAMURAI SOUL, ENGAGE!"

Running through the symbol, he transformed into his Ranger form. Charging at Mirgar with his sword, he quickly and skilfully evaded most of his attacks whilst Mirgar blocked the attacks coming at him until they were in a lock.

"That all you've got, greenie?" Mirgar taunted.

"Why, you want some more!?" Isaac replied, releasing himself from the lock and kicking Mirgar before following his attack up with several strikes, but the monster scored a lucky blow, sending the Green Ranger flying.

Mirgar watched him trying to stand back up. "Now you'll see why I'm the winner here!" he cried, punching down into the ground, his arms disappearing.

Isaac looked around, trying to work out exactly what his opponent was trying to do. Before he could however, Mirgar's arms shot out of the ground beneath him, sending him flying into a tree.

Before Isaac could react, he performed the same technique again, this time hitting him several times.

'I need to get out of range!' Isaac thought, looking up to a building next to him. Just as another punch came up from the ground, Isaac dodged it and jumped up on top of the building.

"Fool! You can't escape me from there!" Mirgar cried as his fists flew at Isaac once more. Several hits later, Isaac was thrown to the floor below, seemingly down and out.

'It's... Over...' he thought, finding it impossible to gain the strength to get back up.

Just as Mirgar launched another attack, a morphed Ryu jumped in, forcing the monster back with several sword strikes. Mirgar quickly reacted however, using his attack again. Ryu could sense it coming, but he was far too close to avoid it in time as he was sent flying to the ground.

Isaac watched on as he found the strength to get back up. "Ryu!" he yelled as the Red Ranger looked up.

'Damn it... It's obvious now they were targeting me, and now others are getting hurt and killed because of my recklessness...' Isaac thought as he focused on the monster. "Ryu, can you move?" he asked his comrade.

Ryu got back up, readying his sword. "Of course."

"Hey, stretchy! Over here!" Isaac taunted.

'Is he insane?' Ryu thought, watching him goad their opponent.

"Stretchy!? That does it, you're through!" Mirgar yelled, beginning his attack again. This time though, Isaac was prepared and started running away.

After running through, over and under some buildings, Isaac was beginning to wear out. 'Just how far can this guy go?' he wondered. He was hoping Ryu would have taken the chance to destroy the monster, but it would appear that he hadn't taken it, leaving the Green Ranger confused.

After running a little more, Isaac appeared behind Mirgar. "Hey, over here!" he yelled.

Mirgar turned around. "Why stop there? I'm not done yet!" he yelled, continuing his attack.

Isaac had no time to react having stopped, but luckily Ryu had anticipated what was going to happen and blocked the attack just in time, only to get hit by the other arm, sending him flying into one of the building's many columns.

"Ryu!" shouted Isaac, turning to face Mirgar, who in turn started to attack him.

Isaac run at his opponent, nimbly avoiding the oncoming attacks before jumping over his enemy.

"Spin the disk, now!" Ryu ordered.

Isaac had no idea what was about to happen, but he tried it out.

"Wind storm!" he cried as he shot forward, the blade of his sword now green. As the attack ended, Mirgar collapsed and died.

As Ryu stood up once again, a morphed Devin, Sara and Ellie arrived too.

"Where the heck were you guys?" Isaac asked.

"I asked them to stay out of this, to teach you a lesson. I hope you learnt it." Ryu replied. "Now get ready, it's time to use your Origami's again."

"Huh? But we beat him!" Isaac said, confused.

"If you had hung around earlier, you would have known that two lives, and they always come back stronger the second time around!" Sara answered.

Just as predicted, Mirgar revived and grew to gigantic size. Everyone got their Origami's ready.

"Wait!" cried Isaac. "Give me one chance. I want to try and finish this myself. This is my mess."

Ryu nodded. Isaac put his Origami on the ground and drew the symbol as before. Once again, the Origami grew to giant size.

"Bear Origami Zord!"

The Bear Zord roared loudly, charging at Mirgar and avoiding his attacks. When he was close enough, he began to swipe at his opponent, just as he had done with Zardek. However, the attempted failed just as quickly as the time before and he was quickly kicked away, only to be caught by the other Zords.

"Ok, you've tried it your way, now you try mine." Ryu ordered, drawing a symbol with his Morpher. Suddenly, all the Zords started to change shape and join together.

"What the...?" Isaac wondered aloud as he tried to figure out why he had no control over his Zord.

All the Zords started to join together – the Bear and Dragon Zords becoming legs, the Lion Zord becoming the body and head. the Turtle and Monkey Zords becoming the arms. A helmet was then lowered onto the head.

A white flash of light was seen in all the Ranger's cockpits and the next thing they knew, they were all in a joint cockpit.

"Samurai Megazord!" Yelled Ryu.

"What's going on here?" asked a confused Ellie.

"I didn't have time to explain earlier. Our Mojikara can work together to create something stronger than ourselves. This is one of the results. Focus with me!" Ryu yelled in response. The others nodded and prepared themselves.

Mirgar fired a stream of rocks and dirt at the Megazord, which it blocked expertly with it's shield.

"It's playtime!" Mirgar yelled in response, using his attack again. The Megazord put it's shield away, moving to hold it's sword with both hands, stopping in a focused stance.

"Are you mad? You'll get us killed!" Isaac protested.

"Enough!" Ryu snapped. "We can end this here and now. Focus with me, sense the movements and react accordingly." He continued, shutting his eyes, also causing the entire Megazord to power down. He could feel it; the ground shaking as the attack approached.

"Eat this!" Mirgar cried as he launched his attack.

Ryu's eyes opened, the Megazord regaining power. One quick movement later, it was standing on one arm and was blocking the other with its sword. Another movement later, both arms were cut off. Mirgar cried in pain as the battle was about to come to a close.

Ryu pulled his sword out of the console, everyone else doing the same. They slashed downwards, activating the Megazord's final strike.

"SAMURAI SLASH!"

The blow pierced straight through Mirgar as he exploded in a shower of sparks, just as Zardek had done.

"One step closer to our goal..." Ryu commented...

Several hours later, the commotion in the city had died down and once more the Rangers were assembled in the park. Ryu and Isaac faced each other whilst everyone else watched against the backdrop a bright orange sunset.

"Your reckless actions put everyone in danger. Your foolhardy plan caused untold amounts of damage to several buildings, people could have seen you morph and when I came up with a plan to fix "your mess", you still managed to doubt me every step of the way. Give me one decent reason why I shouldn't have you return your Morpher right now." Ryu said sternly.

Isaac thought about his answer for a few moments before speaking. "Regret. Regret for my stupidity. My attitude was entirely wrong for the task I should be doing."

Ryu considered his reply for a few seconds. "Perhaps you do have some potential... One more chance. Mess up again, and I'll have no choice." He replied. Isaac smiled a little, looking at the others.

"Sorry, everyone." He told them.

"It's good to see you've calmed down." Devin replied, inviting the two to sit down with them. They did so, and discussed the days events under the setting sun...

TO BE CONTINUED...

Next time : Blind Faith

Ryu's teaching methods begin to cause divisions as Gyaranth piles on the pressure...


End file.
